School Board reviews studies on class size

PORTSMOUTH — School Board members say a review of recent studies suggests the quality of the teacher means more to a child's education than the size of the class.

Joey Cresta

PORTSMOUTH — School Board members say a review of recent studies suggests the quality of the teacher means more to a child's education than the size of the class.

The board held a workshop session on class size at its meeting this past Tuesday. The workshop included an overview by Superintendent Ed McDonough of various studies and experiments on the topic across the country.

Some of the seminal studies of class size found the largest and most consistent academic gains were among economically disadvantaged students in the early elementary grades, McDonough said.

For instance, the Tennessee Student/Teacher Achievement Ratio experiment in 1985 involved randomly assigning kindergarten students to classes of 13 to 17 students, while others were enrolled in classrooms that averaged 22 students. McDonough said the study is considered the "gold standard" and showed there were real benefits to smaller class sizes, particularly for minorities, the economically disadvantaged and male students.

In Wisconsin, the Student Achievement Guarantee in Education program also sought to improve academic achievement through a number of measures, including reducing class size. McDonough said students in smaller classes scored higher on tests and teachers reported they had more meaningful relationships with their students, fewer problems with discipline and more time to individualize lessons.

Other studies did not produce such results. In California, a class-size reduction program using federal dollars in 1996 created 25,000 new teaching positions to reduce class sizes from 30 to 20 students. McDonough said the state found schools were in such a rush to fill positions they hired unqualified teachers.

And in Florida, voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2002 that set class-size limits. The policy cost $20 billion over the first eight years, McDonough said.

In those two cases, he said, the cost outweighed any perceived benefit of smaller class sizes. But in his opinion, McDonough said smaller classes encourage personalization, higher-order thinking skills and other significant educational benefits. He said he believes Portsmouth has the right approach, which is to strive to limit class sizes to 20 students or less.

Portsmouth High School senior Elizabeth Boynton, the student representative on the board, said she likes smaller classes. In larger classes, students have a harder time paying attention and teachers don't perform their best, she said.

Linda Briolat, a Little Harbour School teacher and the teachers' representative on the board, said she has 24 students in her class this year, which prevents her from knowing her students as well as she would like. When she has smaller classes, she knows details such as what books each student likes and she can hold more personal discussions with parents during conferences, she said.

Many board members said the take-away from reviewing the literature on the matter is that while class size can affect student achievement, the quality of the teacher matters most.

Board member Dexter Legg said that in conversations with parents, he has found many who believe the primary indicator of success or failure is class size, but having a smaller class "is certainly not a silver bullet ... at best, it's an imperfect measure."

The question of whether the cost is worth the result should be at the front of everyone's minds, board member Carol Chellman said. Funds used for a focused effort on reducing class size might be better spent on teacher quality, she said.

Leslie Stevens, chairwoman of the board's policy subcommittee, suggested the district should have a policy on class size, even if it is one that is simple and flexible. Board Chairman Mitch Shuldman said any policy on class size should be reasonable so the district can adapt to the economic conditions of the day.

Advertise

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
seacoastonline.com ~ 111 New Hampshire Ave., Portsmouth, NH 03801 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service